Playblock



Ang. 21", 19723.

s.' G. Goss PLAYBLOCK Filed Jan. '26. 1920 Patented ug. 21, `1923.

UNITED 'STATES PATENT, orifice.

GOSS, OF GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T HALSAM PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

j PLAYBLOCK.

` Application led January 26, 1920. Serial No. 353,953.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that vI, SAMUEL G. Goss,a citizen of the United States,l residingl at Glencoe, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsgin Playblocks, of which the following is a specification.

My inventlon relates to a play block, and the primary' object of the invention is to provide a block very light in weight and having smooth, flat and even surfaces with which a child may build and play, or ywhich it may toss around with considerable freedom, without incurring the risk of -breaklng or. damaging objects with which it might come in contact., The invention in its preferred form-contemplates a hollow block,

' or a block filled with some light weight material, such as cork or sawdust, of prismatic shape, made of any suitable material, for example, sheet metal or fiber, in two complementary parts which may be pressed or otherwise shaped to the desired configuration by any suitable shaping or forming 5 apparatus, the edges of the open sides be-l ing joined to complete the block` in a manner so as to leave the outer side surfaces even and smooth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a, play block having` 'the 'characteristics above noted, with-which a child may play and which it may handle safely without the likelihood of being injured, and to this end the invention a1ms to provide ablock shaped or formed so that the corners ,andv edgesI are rounded instead of being square and sharp, as in the ordinary wood play block.

The invention consists in the novel block 41?' and the constructions thereof, to be hereinafter described and claimed, for carrying outthe above `stated objects and such other,l incidental objects as will appear from the following description-of certain preferred 45 embodiments illustrated in the accompanyin drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a play bldc'lnbodying the principles of mjy invention; j

.and

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

.Figs 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views of modifications illustrating various methods of forming the joints between the parts;

, f- 55 Fig. 6 is a sectional view of another modificati'on, the block being filled with some light weight filling material.'c

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

The body of thel block shown in the drawlngs comprises the parts a" and b, each part being complementary to the other. These parts may be formed of any suitable material and may be pressed or otherwise shaped to the desired configuration by any suitable shaping or for-mingI apparatus. kPictorial representations of various objects letters,

and numerals-may be embossed, printed or otherwise illustrated on the sides ofthe block. The block may be 'of any desired4 shape, preferably prismatic, for example,

the cubical block illustrated in the drawings.

The open sides or ends of the complementary parts of the block are brought together and may be joinedin a number. of ways, the essential requirement being to join. the parts so that the outer surfaces will be even and smooth. The blocks are also preferably formed so that the corners and edges will be round, as shown in the drawings.

In Figs'. 1, 2'and 3, the parts are formed so that the joint is near one side ofthe block. In Figs. 1 and 2 the sides of the part b are formed so as to provide an .cifset portion c and a shoulder d. The sldes ofthe part a are adapted to Koverlap the outside surfaces of the off-.set portlons c, the proximatev edges of thev parts a abutting against the shoulders d.' The parts may be held together by any suitable means, for

example, if vthe parts are formed of metal struction of the joint Ai/frmversecl from that-` l material is placed lon the inside of the block and the sides of the parts'secured thereto.

In Fig. 6 the parts a and b are'formed substantially the same as in Fig. 5. The

band f, howevenis not used. The body of the block shown in Fig. 6 isvilled with filling1 material g, which is preferably very l'g t in weight. This material is'preferably cementitious and may consist of a quantity of any light weight material, for example, ground cork or sawdust, mixed with a suitable adhesive. Small, air holes h may be provided to permit moisture to escape while theadhesive substance is drying. The filling material -serves two purposes. It serves to prevent the block from being crushed in and also serves as a binder to hold the parts VL and b in position. The filling material obviously may be used in the other forms of the block, if desired.

A block constructed in accordance-with -the principles of my invention is extremely light in weight, and may .be handled by a child with considerable freedom without damaging or breaking objects with which it comes in contact. The complementary parts of the block being joined together in the manner hereinbefore described, provide flat,

smooth and even side surfaces, so that the blocks may be stackedand used for building purposes. The rounded corners and edges make it possible for a child to handle the block with safety, without the likelihood of being injured, as often happenswith ordinary blocks having square corners and edges.

I claim:

1. A prismatic play block comprising hollow sheet metal sections with rounded corners, said sections being firmly secured together in block for1n.`

2. A prismatic play block comprising two sections pressed from sheet metal into complementary form and joined. evenly and smoothly along their proximate edges.

3.'As -an article of manufacture', a hollow prismatic play block` the body of which comprises two complementary parts, the open ends of the respective parts being brought together and the proximate edges joined, the sides of one part being offset and adapted to overlap thel sides of the other part. A t

4. As an article of'manufacture, a hollow prismatic 'play block, the body of which comprises two complementary parts, .the

open ends of the respective parts being bronght'together, the sides of one part beingprovided with offset portions to form shoulders, the edges of the sides of the other part abutting 'against saidv shoulders,`said offset portions being joined to said sides.

5. As an article of manufacture, a hollow prismatic play block. the body of which i comprises two complementary parts, the open ends of the respective parts being brought together and the proximate yedges joined, the sides of one part being oiset.

and Aadapted to overlap the sides of they other part, the corners andedges of the body y so formed being rounded.

. i SAMUEL Gr.A GOSSY. 

